ETFS Multi-Asset Weekly Volatility Makes a Comeback
Highlights
Oil drops another 10% as the IEA revises 2015 outlook down.
European stocks oscillate in response to mixed news.
FOMC in focus as US dollar rally continues unabated.
With the political situation in Greece remaining precarious and falling oil prices changing the world order, perception of risk is rising. The Chinese domestic equity market ended the week up close to 2%, despite a 5% fall on Tuesday in a particularly unstable week. Position-squaring and reduced liquidity going into year-end is likely to contribute to market volatility, but also likely to leave investors flush with funds to invest at the start of 2015. Gold and silver, traditionally seen as defensive, hedge assets rose last week amidst the instability. The Federal Open Market Committee’s last meeting for 2014 will be closely watched for cues on policy tightening to come in 2015.
Commodities
Oil drops another 10% as the IEA revises 2015 outlook down. WTI fell below US$60/bbl last week while Brent is following close behind, after the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced it expects prices to remain low on weak demand and large supplies. Although price weakness is likely to continue through the first half of 2015, continued economic growth in the US and China, combined with a reduction in oil supply, will eventually bring the oil market back to balance in with prices returning to trade above the US$70/bbl level. We believe the reduced demand forecasts from OPEC are a precursor to supply cuts. At these prices, close to 20% of crude oil and condensates production from the United States are unprofitable according to the EIA. Meanwhile, silver rose 3.4% on tighter supply prospects in 2015. While silver stocks remain elevated, they have fallen by 4% since the beginning of October. We expect industrial demand to rise and buttress price action over the next few months as the recovery in the US and China gains momentum.
Equities
European stocks oscillate in response to mixed news. The EURO STOXX 50® Investable Volatility Index ended the week up 13% after a turbulent week. A report outlining strong German factory orders prompted a rally in European stocks. These gains were quickly erased following an announcement made by Antonis Samaras, the Greek prime minister which stated that voting for a new president would commence this week, casting doubt over the political future of the nation. Energy related stocks have suffered as oil marches lower as illustrated by the -10.7% fall in the Solactive US Energy Infrastructure MLP Index. The FTSE 100 was dragged lower last week by the poor performance of mining stocks, falling -3.3% as China revealed the biggest fall in imports in eight months. The report confirmed growing fears that the domestic demand is weak in the world’s largest consumer of industrial metals.
Currencies
FOMC in focus as US dollar rally continues unabated. We expect the US Dollar to remain on an upward trajectory during 2015, as the economic recovery prompts the Federal Reserve to begin to tighten policy in Q2. We expect that a large balance sheet for the Fed does not preclude rate hikes and that small and measured rate increases can be a signalling mechanism to allow the central bank to warn the market that stimulus will be gradually removed as the recovery continues to absorb spare capacity. Meanwhile, the surprise rate cut by the Norwegian central bank, coupled with the continued weakness in oil prices has been detrimental for the Norwegian Krone. We expect that the deflationary impact of lower oil prices will begin to fade and that the negative impact of weaker oil prices on the Norwegian external balance should also start to diminish as crude recovers.
Important Information
This communication has been issued and approved for the purpose of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 by ETF Securities (UK) Limited (”ETFS UK”) which is authorised and regulated by the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (”FCA”).
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iShares NASDAQ 100 SwapUCITSETF USD (Acc) (N100 ETF) med ISIN IE0001ZFMLN7, försöker följa Nasdaq 100®-indexet. Nasdaq 100®-indexet spårar ett urval av 100 aktier valda bland icke-finansiella aktier noterade på NASDAQ-börsen.
Den börshandlade fondens TER (total cost ratio) uppgår till 0,20 % p.a. ETFen replikerar det underliggande indexets prestanda syntetiskt med en swap. Utdelningarna i ETFen ackumuleras och återinvesteras.
iShares NASDAQ 100 SwapUCITSETF USD (Acc) är en mycket liten ETF med 4 miljoner euro under förvaltning. Denna ETF lanserades den 3 oktober 2024 och har sin hemvist i Irland.
Varför N100?
Exponering mot 100 av de största amerikanska och internationella icke-finansiella aktierna noterade på NASDAQ-börsen.
Exponering för företag inom stora industrigrupper inklusive hårdvara och mjukvara, telekommunikation, detaljhandel/grossisthandel och bioteknik.
Använd i din portfölj för att söka tillväxt på medellång till lång sikt även om fonden också kan vara lämplig för kortsiktig exponering mot index.
Investeringsmål
Fonden strävar efter att uppnå avkastning på din investering, genom en kombination av kapitaltillväxt och inkomst på fondens tillgångar, vilket återspeglar den totala nettoavkastningen för NASDAQ 100-indexet (”Indexet”).
IncomeShares passed three milestones in August. Assets under management climbed to almost $66 million, cumulative fund flows topped $72 million, and turnover across London and Xetra listings reached over $27 million. Palantir paid the highest annualised distribution yield at 57.11%. The sections below break the numbers down in more detail.
Cumulative fund flows
Fund flows track how much money investors put into or take out of IncomeShares ETPs (exchange-traded products). Positive flows mean more money coming in than going out – a sign of demand for the products.
Flows have risen every month this year. In January, they stood at $13.7 million. By the end of August, they reached $72.4 million. That’s over $8 million of new money added in August alone – the biggest increase since May.
Trading turnover
Turnover is the total dollar value of IncomeShares ETPs bought and sold on the exchanges. Higher turnover means more activity and liquidity for investors.
Turnover reached $27.3 million in August – the highest on record and more than double January’s $13.0 million. London listings (USD and GBP combined) made up $14.2 million, with Xetra listings close behind at $13.1 million. Both exchanges have seen steady increases through 2025, showing rising interest in income options strategies across the board.
Note: Figures use IDC FX rates as of the August month-end to convert GBP and EUR into USD. We apply the same August rates to all prior months to compare turnover on a like-for-like basis.
Assets under management (AUM)
AUM is the total value of assets held across all IncomeShares ETPs. It grows when new investors buy in, or when the underlying assets rise in value.
AUM grew from $13.8 million in January to $65.8 million at the end of August. It was also $8 million more than in July. Steady inflows and consistent income distributions are helping the product range build scale.
Distribution yields
Distribution yields represent the annualised income paid to investors as a percentage of the current NAV (net asset value), based on the latest month’s yield. IncomeShares ETPs aim to generate this income from selling options. Yields change each month depending on strategy performance and market volatility.
Annualised August yields (ranked highest to lowest):
Our Palantir ETP topped the list with an annualised yield of 57.11% for August, up from 30.57% in July. The stock was volatile in August, trading between $142 and $190. That wider range increased option premiums, which boosted the ETP’s yield. The ETP sells put options on Palantir stock and holds shares – the strategy used for all our single stock ETPs and the Magnificent 7 product.
The Nasdaq 100 ETP paid an annualised yield of 46.44% in August, up slightly from 44.52% in July. At the other end, Gold+ and Microsoft stayed below 7%, reflecting relatively calmer conditions in their underlying assets.
The table below shows the annalised distribution yields for all IncomeShares ETPs so far this year. Note that the bottom eight ETPs launched in late June, so they only have yields for July and August.
Key takeaways
• Fund flows climbed to $72.4 million, with August adding more than $8 million.
• Turnover hit a record $27.3 million, split almost evenly between London and Xetra.
• Palantir topped the yield table at 57%, with Nasdaq 100 and Coinbase also paying above 40%.